One of the most important steps project planners take when planning a project is to develop a work breakdown structure (WBS). WBSs are instrumental in defining a project's scope. By decomposing the deliverable into constituent pieces, planners can make the planning process more manageable.

This course offers a detailed examination of what WBSs are, how they provide the basis for planning budgets and schedules, how they can be used to estimate project budgets, how they play a central role in integrated cost/schedule control, and how they can be tailored to meet the needs of individual projects. At the end of the course, students know how to build them for large and small projects alike.

The treatment of WBSs in this course is compliant with the following standards: PMBOK Guide, PMI's Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures (2nd ed., 2006), IPMA's Competence Baseline, and Military Handbook 881A.

Objectives

To learn how to construct, tailor and interpret WBSs in order to manage project scope, develop project plans and track project progress.

What You Will Learn

How to build WBSs using a step-by-step process

How to determine how much detail to put into the WBS

How to tailor WBSs to fit different circumstances

Use of Performance WBSs and Contract WBSs on major programs

Processes employed in WBS use and construction in the Federal government vs. private sector

Using WBSs to identify control accounts employed in earned value management